Time surely flies! I barely realized that it's already June and it's time for the final installment of the Squid Game series.
Plot
The final season starts exactly where Squid Game 2 ended. No lapse of time here unlike in the first to second season transition. Seong Gi Hun (Lee Jung Jae) has been captured. His friend Jung Bae (Lee Seo Hwan of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Romance is a Bonus Book, and Fight for My Way) was shot and killed in front of him to guilt trip Gi Hun into believing that his rebellion failed and his comrades lost their lives for nothing.
Player 001 is back as the Front Man (Lee Byung Hun of The Man Standing Next, Our Blues, and Mr. Sunshine). Detective Hwang (Wi Ha Joon of Gyeongseong Creature 1 and 2, Romance is a Bonus Book, and Something in the Rain) and his team are still looking for Gi Hun and the island where the games are being played. Despite the rebellion, the games still continue.
Characters
Similar to what I did in Season 2, I will just go through notable characters here since we're probably all familiar with everyone, especially since no new major character is introduced this season.
Since his planned overthrow of the games failed, Gi Hun is seen blaming himself for the death of the people who helped him. Of course it does not help that the remaining players are guilt tripping him into believing that everything was his fault. So he's seen mostly handcuffed to his bed in between games. He didn't even bother voting so he was considered to have abstained.
Honestly, I was quite disappointed with how he just shut off everyone. I didn't expect him to be perky and cheerful. But I wanted him to at least vote to make a statement that he still believed in the cause he fought for and to remove doubts in the minds of the others that everything was staged. That would have been more aligned with his personality.
Ha! I knew it! Player 388 or Kang Dae Ho (Kang Ha Neul of Moon Lovers and Misaeng) was not really a marine. And while I'm not really into playing the blame game, I think his lies made it somehow acceptable to blame him for why the "rebels" went down so fast. He quit and left everyone else to die. So I was fine seeing him go crazy over the guilt of what he did and feel so self-conscious, thinking that everyone had their eyes on him. And while every death is tragic, it was just fitting that Gi Hun ended him. And I totally preferred the Player 388 we got here over the one from the previous season. The more controlled acting came out better for me.
One of the things that I looked forward to after season 2 was seeing how Detective Hwang will infiltrate the island. I did not get much of that unfortunately. He was mostly stuck on the boat with the suspicious Captain Park (Oh Dal Su of 1987: When the Day Comes)(who by the way had such a great transformation from a meek and friendly boat captain to a scary and murderous villain). He did find the island. But it was too late by then since the games were over. A lot of people have died. And everyone else was evacuating. He did see his brother but didn't really do anything about it. I guess blood will always be thicker than water, even for law enforcement guys.
Makes me wonder if he really accomplished anything in the end. Probably he got rid of the games in South Korea?
I would have wanted more fight scenes for him on the island. And there would have probably been more time for that if he was more proactive about investigating Mr. Choi's (Jun Suk Ho of Love Next Door, Moving, Jirisan, Live, Strong Girl Bong Soon, and Misaeng) suspicions. Special mention to Jun Suk Ho for a much better portrayal of Mr. Choi this season. Made me appreciate his character more than when he was all over the top in season 2.
We get more of Soldier 11/Kang No Eul (Park Gyu Young of Romance is a Bonus Book) this season. She wowed us again with her badassery. Especially when she chose to risk her life and save Player 246/Park Gyeong Seok (Lee Jin Uk). And her fight scenes with her boss (Park Hee Soon of 1987: When the Day Comes, Moving, and My Name) were so amazing.
I wish it were more established though why she went all out in helping Player 246. I get that she was trying to make up for abandoning her daughter in North Korea and she personally knew that Player 246's daughter was sick. But there were moments when it just felt too much for me.
With the courage she showed in season 2, I couldn't help but root for Player 120/Cho Hyun Ju (Park Sung Hoon of The Glory 1 and 2). Her grit helped a lot of her fellow players survive. That's why her death was so, so tragic for me. Especially since Player 333/Lee Myung Gi (Im Si Wan of Summer Strike, Thirty-Nine, Run On, Misaeng, and Reply 1997) didn't need to kill anyone at that point.
I found it quite stupid and convenient though that for someone so cautious and well-trained (former Special Forces), she had her back turned to the door, which made her a very easy target.
Then we have the mother and son tandem of Player 149/Ms. Jang (Kang Ae Shim of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Cleaning Up, Thirty-Nine, and Hospital Playlist 2) and Player 007/Park Yong Sik (Yang Dong Geun of Play, Plii and Moving).
This storyline was so crazy. Mom had to kill her son to stop him from killing Player 222/Kim Jun Hee (Jo Yu Ri) and her newborn baby. For mom to sacrifice her own son was so huge. But she couldn't live with the guilt of what she did that she killed herself too. How tragic!
At least something good came out of it. Her little pep talk helped push Gi Hun to finally come out of his slump and help Jun Hee and her baby.
Another tragic story was Jun Hee's. I think her misfortune began the moment she let Myung Gi into her life. She got pregnant. She had to join the game to survive. She had to give birth during the games. And she had to choose between staying alive and keeping her baby alive. That decision she had to make in the end was just so heartbreaking. Capped off with that haunting last shot of her dead body among the colorful flowers.
I was extremely disappointed when Myung Gi chose to keep on playing despite knowing that the other players will probably vote to eliminate his baby. But then again, I should not have been surprised. After all, Myung Gi proved to be the sneakiest and most devious among the players. He played both sides. He proved to be brainy and he played the game well, making everyone believe that he was on their side, while keeping his real identity as the baby's father. (Although the timing of his revelation felt quite premature for me.) His greed consumed him. And I'm just so glad that Jun Hee did not entrust the baby to him. And that Gi Hun did not trust him either. But great acting from Im Si Wan, as always.
Execution
There were some characters/storylines that I didn't really care about. Like druggie Player 124 (Roh Jae Won of D.P. Season 2) and shaman-like Player 044 (Chae Gook Hee of The World of the Married).
And I was totally not a fan of the VIPs. We'll talk more about their characters later but for now, let me say that it was a mistake not to put subtitles on their dialogues. Sure, they spoke English. But their speech seemed/sounded muffled that it was difficult to hear them clearly.
And while I get that they're central to the story, I would have preferred if they were not given that much screen time, which could have been better used in developing other parts of the story. It was enough that we knew who they were and what their role was in relation to the games.
One thing I really loved about season 1 was how solid the story was. So it was quite sad that there were occasional loopholes this time. Like how the other players didn't seem to wonder where Player 001 was, especially since the killed rebels were hung near the stairs the players used to go to the game areas. Player 001 was prominent enough that someone should have at least remembered to look for him.
Similar to what we said in season 2, Oppa and I felt that the show lost some of its spunk when it became more dramatic compared to how season 1 was so straightforward and no-nonsense. One of the biggest drama was probably having Jun Hee deliver a baby during the Hide and Seek game (how ironic that someone would give birth in a game that was meant to end life) and turning the baby into a player to replace Jun Hee in the games.
Hide and Seek was interesting especially for those who had special relations like Jun Hee and Myung Gi and the mom and her son. I somehow wish though that Player 120 was more alert and careful so she was not stabbed and that Jun Hee was more alert that she used the time when mom and her son were arguing over who would die to escape.
The Jump Rope game was crazy too. Especially with Gi Hun bravely doing it while carrying the baby. And with a broken plank to jump over too. And the greed of the other players now coming out as they tried to literally push each other into that cliff.
That final dinner would have been funny had it not been so dark and scary and sad, especially when they served bottled milk on the baby.
And of course, that painful choice the Front Man gave Gi Hun - to kill the other players before they kill him and the baby. Plus the Front Man's grand reveal to Gi Hun that he was Player 001. Was the Front Man motivated by compassion when he gave the knife to Gi Hun? Was his faith in humanity slowly being restored when he asked Gi Hun about having faith in people?
I liked how Gi Hun didn't succumb to the Front Man's pressure. He kept his humanity intact. It was more acceptable for me that he used that weapon for self-defense.
Before I proceed to the ending, I just want to say how despicable the VIPs were. The level of their monstrosity was unbelievable. (And I found them distracting too!). But I guess they were the perfect depiction of how the rich keep oppressing and mocking the poor, turning them into some form of entertainment.
The final game and how things unfolded were morally confusing yet exciting. Let me just say that everyone who died (save for Gi Hun) deserved it - especially old man Player 100 (Song Young Chang of Cleaning Up) who was an instigator since Day 1. It was perfect that he stayed until almost the finish line only to die in the end.
It was a huge plot twist that the baby, Gi Hun (the guy to whom the baby's mom entrusted the baby), and Myung Gi (the baby's dad) had to be the last 3 remaining players. No surprise there that Myung Gi was evil all the way - choosing to pawn and sacrifice his own child to advance his interests. Although I was quite disappointed with how he seemed so smart in the earlier rounds but proved to be quite stupid in the end - he killed Player 100 and he bullied/harassed Gi Hun before they all reached the last part of the final game. He would have more leeway and options if he let everyone cross over first. But I guess his greed will always get the better of him. His main focus was probably getting all of the money. So of course, he deserved to die too.
I had no doubt that Gi Hun would sacrifice his life for the baby. Which made him really the perfect choice as the baby's guardian. That forehead kiss he left the baby was heartbreaking. I wished he didn't have to die and that the cops got there before he jumped. But I know that that tragic ending had to happen to prove his point that humans are not pawns who can be used for games and other people's entertainment. Not everyone is motivated by greed and money.
The speed of the evacuation felt quite anti-climactic for me. I hoped it was a bit more exciting with some hot pursuit.
The montage of the empty locations in the island where the different games were played before everything exploded felt eerie.
As a "boring" viewer, I admit that I was quite disappointed with how there seemed to be no actual/total resolution of things in the end. I'm the good will always triumph over evil type of viewer. But at least the baby is in good hands. Although I'm not quite sure why the Front Man left her with his brother. Did he want to keep her close because he was starting to care for her?
And at least Gi Hun's daughter got the "fruits" of her father's sacrifices. I suppose the Front Man "stole" Gi Hun's money from the motel to give it to his daughter.
The ending had a Cate Blanchett cameo where she seemed to have taken over as a recruiter. Obviously she was doing this in the US, which could mean the show is testing the waters for an international spin-off/adaptation.
Although season 1 still proved to be the best among the three seasons, this one is still great and an adaptation is something worth exploring.
Oppa says...4.6.
Noona says...4.5.